If you’re like me, you get a little thrill when you shop for school supplies. Crisp new binders, spanking-clean backpacks, lunch bags, cool pens—who cares if they’re not for you! Even if you don’t love it, though, school-supply shopping is a must. In addition to buying the usual supplies for kids, this year 95 percent of us parents will, according to our recent poll, have to contribute to our kid’s classroom supplies. That means we have to buy even more.

As a notorious penny pincher myself, I never buy anything without first checking for coupons on RetailMeNot.com or the RetailMeNot mobile app. And with school supply lists longer than ever, using online coupons is non-negotiable.

To prove just how much you can save, I spoke to three parents, each of whom provided me with an abridged version of their school supply list, and I found coupons to match. Let’s see how much they saved.

Anita Walia’s two daughters, Viv and Brenna

ANITA WALIA

Anita Walia, is a 40-something mom who lives in Baltimore, Maryland, with her analyst husband and two daughters, 11-year-old Viv and 13-year-old Brenna.

Viv will be transitioning from a private school to a John Hopkins–run math and science program at a city public school. “The school supply list is a little different for her new school,” says Anita. “In addition to requiring individual student supplies, we are asked to provide classroom supplies for the teachers. Basics like paper towels, tissues, hand sanitizers and disinfecting wipes. We will have to supply a flash drive too.” Brenna will be attending a private Quaker Friends school, where the shopping list is limited to more predictable items.

Thirty-something mom Shannon Smyth has lived in the Lake Wallenpaupack area of Pennsylvania for the last 10 years. She and her husband, Bryan, have four boys: Gavin, 14; Duncan, 11; Connor, 9; and Brody, 6. Bryan works in construction and Shannon has written the beauty blog A Girl’s Gotta Spa! for the last nine years.

Unlike most parents in the U.S., Shannon’s school district has not been affected by budget cuts in any major way. “We live in a tourist area, so thanks to the kind folks of New York and New Jersey who have second homes here and pay taxes, those of us who have kids in the district reap the rewards of a great school district that takes care of most everything. The list I’m shopping from at the moment is what I know for sure we’ll need to buy.”

Jennifer Seymour lives with her daughter, 6-year-old Charlotte; 3-year-old twin boys, Dylan and Beckett; and her husband, Aaron, who is a trading desk manager for a global hedge fund. Jennifer is the “family CEO” and in her spare time she sits on the board of the preschool, is an active member of the Junior League of Eastern Fairfield County and is training for her first half-marathon. (Go, Jennifer!)